'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah Al-Dukhan

This surah is Makki, and I do not recall any disagreement regarding any part of it.

His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

﴿Ha-Mim﴾ ﴿And the Clear Book﴾ ﴿Indeed, We sent it down in a Blessed Night. Indeed, We were warning﴾ ﴿In it is distinguished every wise matter﴾ ﴿A command from Us. Indeed, We were sending﴾ ﴿A mercy from your Lord. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing﴾ ﴿Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, if you should be certain﴾ ﴿There is no deity except Him. He gives life and causes death. Your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers﴾ ﴿But they are in doubt, playing﴾ ﴿So wait for a Day when the heaven will bring a visible smoke﴾

The statement regarding " , " has preceded. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿And the Clear Book﴾ is an oath by which Allah, blessed and exalted is He, swore. And

And His saying, exalted is He: "Amran" is in the accusative case as a verbal noun, and "min 'indina" is an attribute of His saying, exalted is He: "Amran." And His saying, exalted is He: "Indeed, We were senders" may mean the messengers and prophets, peace be upon them. It may also mean the mercy that He mentioned later. According to the first interpretation, His saying, exalted is He: "Rahmatan" is in the accusative case as a verbal noun, and it may be that its accusative case is in the state of being an adjective.

And His saying, exalted is He: "If you are certain" is a confirmation and affirmation, meaning: if you are certain of this, your certainty will be so, just as you say to a person you are establishing: knowledge is your goal if you are a man. And His saying, exalted is He: "Your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers" means: your owner and the owner of your forefathers.

Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu 'Amr, and Ibn 'Amir read: "Rabbus Samawat" in the nominative case as a separate and new statement, which is the reading of Al-A'raj, Ibn Abi Ishaq, Abu Ja'far, and Shaiba. And 'Asim, Hamza, and Al-Kisai read it in the genitive case as a substitution for the previous "Rabb." This is the reading of Ibn Muhaysin and Al-Amash. As for His saying, exalted is He: "Your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers," the majority is on the nominative case of the "ba." Al-Hasan read it in the genitive case, narrated by Abu Musa from Al-Kisai.

And His saying, exalted is He: "But they are in doubt" is a negation that is implied before it, as if He is saying: these are not among those who believe, nor among those whom advice benefits. Rather, they are in doubt, playing in their words and actions.

People have differed regarding the smoke that Allah, exalted is He, commanded to await. A group among them, including Ali ibn Abi Talib, Zayd ibn Ali, Ibn 'Umar, Ibn 'Abbas, Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri, and Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan, may Allah be pleased with them, said it is a smoke that will come before the Day of Resurrection. The believer will experience from it something like a cold, while the heads of the hypocrites and disbelievers will be roasted until they are like roasted meat. Another group among them, including Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Abu Al-'Aliyah, and Ibrahim Al-Nakha'i, said it is the smoke that Quraysh saw when the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, prayed against them for seven years like the seven of Yusuf, peace be upon him. A man would see from the drought and hunger smoke between him and the sky, and what comes from the signs strengthens this interpretation. Ibn Mas'ud mentioned five that have passed: the smoke, the lizard, the great calamity, the moon, and Rome. Al-Tabari mentioned a narration from Hudhayfah that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Indeed, the first signs of the Hour are the smoke, the descent of Jesus son of Mary, and a fire that will emerge from the bottom of Aden." Al-Tabari weakened the chain of this narration and preferred the saying of Ibn Mas'ud regarding the smoke. It is possible - if the narration of Hudhayfah is authentic - that smoke has passed and another smoke will come.